Sunday, August 14, 2016

Neverending Nightmares

I love Edward Gorey, so when Steam recommended Neverending Nightmare to me, I was immediately interested. It's not like they mention Gorey, not that I have read it, but it really is heavily inspired by him and his style.

If you are looking for puzzles to solve and fights to win, then this is not your game. If you're into exploring a setting and getting creeped out by artwork and atmosphere, go ahead and buy this. You play as Thomas, an asthmatic boy living in a huge mansion who is plagued by nightmares. Basically, you fall from one nightmare into the next. The artwork does a very good job of creating an oppressive atmosphere, with the edges of the screen always hidden in shadows. Thomas cannot move very fast (well, he can, but then he gets short of breath) and this adds to the atmosphere, too. It's a game about anxiety and depression and there are some really disturbing self-harm scenes, so be warned.

Do take your time with it and pay attention to the details in each screen, everything is wonderfully creepy (those paintings..).

The only splashes of colour are things you can interact with and blood, used to great effect.